The Dragneel Family Album
by Maximillian Havisham
Summary: A spinoff of "7 Years and Counting". Natsu and his family have left Fiore and started their year-long journey throughout the continent of Ishgal. Just what will they see and do? Drabbles of family life, the past, the future, and other things circling them.
1. Arrival in Seven

"Papa, wake up."

"It's time to wake up, Natsu."

Natsu Dragneel's eyelids twitched before slowly opening to the smiling faces of his wife and his daughter.

"Morning." He yawned.

Erza chuckled. "It's almost 2 in the afternoon."

"Afternoon then." His head resting comfortably on his wife's thighs Natsu rose to a sitting position and yawned again. "Are we here?"

"Yes." Erza nodded. "Kagura and Happy are waiting for us outside the station."

Natsu looked out of the train windows but saw nothing but colored lights dimly illuminating darkness. "Wait, where are we? It's completely dark."

"In a tunnel. Now come on." Erza stood up from her seat and held Aura's hand. "We don't have long before the train leaves again."

"Alright. Give me a minute." Natsu stood up and grabbed the bags from the overhead compartment. Luckily the train had lights inside the cabin to compensate for the darkness of the tunnel outside. Once he secured the bags he followed Erza and Aura out of the train and into the tunnel proper. As the train pulled out of the dark station, Natsu looked around in wonder. The metal platforms and tracks inside the tunnel were beautifully lit by various lacrima and candles peppered throughout.

"The station is underground." Erza explained to her husband. "So they have to use a lacrima to keep it illuminated for travelers entering and exiting the trains. At least that's what the conductor said when we arrived."

"It's really pretty." Aura marveled.

"Yeah." Natsu agreed with a nod. The trio reached a flight of stairs that seemed to end at a light at the top. Natsu held out his hand to his daughter. "I'll carry you, Aura." To his surprise she refused.

"I can do it by myself, Papa." She puffed out her cheeks in a pout, causing her father to chuckle.

"Sorry. Sorry." He apologized. "You're right. You're a big girl."

Aura nodded firmly and trotted up the stairs, Natsu and Erza not too far behind.

"Are you feeling alright?" Erza asked Natsu. "You slept the entire way. Any lingering effects from your motion sickness?"

"I'm a little queasy, but it's nothing really serious. How long was I out?"

"The train ride lasted two days. You were practically comatose the entire time."

Natsu's eyes widened. "Really?"

Erza nodded.

"I didn't really feel anything after we left Magnolia. My body starts shutting down when I get on vehicles now."

"Shutting down?"

"Yeah. I still get sick, but instead of groaning in pain and puking I start to fall asleep. I usually don't wake up until the vehicle stops."

"That explains why you would stir every so often when we stopped at different stations."

"I guess so."

"Have you noticed anything else…strange?"

"Not really. Why?"

"It's nothing. I was just curious."

"Um, alright." He was struck curious by his wife's rather out of the blue question, but he didn't pursue the thought.

They continued to ascend the stairs to the exit. It felt like they would never reach the end. "How long is this thing?" Natsu groaned.

"It shouldn't be much longer."

"Mama! Papa! Up here!"

Natsu and Erza saw their daughter standing at the exit to the tunnel, waving her arms at them. "Hurry up!"

"How did she get up there so fast?" Natsu questioned.

"She's young." Erza smiled. "She has a lot of energy to spare."

Natsu and Erza exited the tunnel to an explosion of light. When their eyes adjusted, they were greeted by the sights of Happy, Kagura, and Aura standing before them.

"About time you arrived." Kagura said. "We thought the train had departed with you on it."

"Aye." Happy nodded. "You two are really slow."

The warm city air entered Natsu's nostrils, carrying with it the mixing smells of flowers and exotic meals. He rubbed his rumbling stomach.

"I guess you would be hungry after all of that riding." Erza laughed at her husband. "Shall we go look for something to eat?"

"Yeah!" Aura and Happy exclaimed.

"I could use something to eat." Kagura voiced.

Happening upon a restaurant close to the station, the group were seated in the outside patio area and awaited their food after ordering. This gave them the opportunity to look out at the city itself.

The streets were paved with smooth and polished stone. Tread upon by both horse-drawn carriages and magic mobiles. The people of this new city seemed to walk with a purpose, wearing suits, dresses, and other manner of fancy dress as they walked along the streets to their destinations.

"Somehow I feel out of place." Erza giggled.

"Everyone looks so nice."Happy noted.

"I can't recall the last time I saw so many magic-mobiles in one place." Kagura commented. Even she was surprised by the sights she was seeing.

Natsu rested his head on his hand. His eyes absently following the random movements of vehicles and people.

"What's wrong, Papa?"

Natsu looked over to his daughter. Seeing her wide eyes filled with concern, he patted her head with a smile to assuage her troubles. "Nothing. Just looking at how different things are compared to Magnolia."

Erza sipped from her cup of tea before she spoke. "It hardly seems real that we actually left Fiore."

"I hope the others are doing alright." Happy wondered.

"Me too." Aura voiced.

"How long do we plan on staying here?" Kagura asked.

"I was thinking we stay for a month or so before moving on to the next country." Erza explained.

"Do we really have enough money to travel the entirety of Earth Land?"

"If worse comes to worst we could always walk to the next country."

"I hope you're joking."

Erza grinned. This didn't fill Kagura with much confidence.

A maid with dark-green hair arrived at the table with plates of food in hand and placed them before their respective owners. "Sorry for the wait. Here's your food." Erza - as expected - ordered a piece of strawberry cake, placed before Kagura was a small bowl of salad, Happy received a cooked salmon, Aura was given a plate of pasta, and Natsu received a steak, a piece of chicken, pasta, and potato stew. He wondered if that was really enough to fill him up.

"Thank you." Erza said to the waitress. She carefully sliced into the cake with her fork and examined for any imperfections. Seeing nothing wrong with external presentation of the dessert, she placed it in her mouth. Her eyes widened as soon as the cake hit her tongue. A bold combination of strawberry and vanilla frosting exploded into the her mouth. Causing her cheeks to tingle from the sweetness. The cake was just the right amount of spongy. It almost made her cry. She squealed happily as she chewed.

Kagura looked to her quizzically. "Does she always do this?"

"Every time she eats strawberry cake." Happy answered.

"Odd."

"Um, excuse me." The waitress called, gathering the table's attention. They forgot she was still standing there. "I don't mean to be rude, but are you all perhaps…tourists?"

Erza nodded, having come down from her sugar high. "Yes we are. We're originally from Fiore."

The waitress' eyes widened. "Fiore? Are you vacationing here?"

"In a sense. Do you know of any tourists spots in the country that we could visit?"

The waitress eagerly nodded. "Yes! I was raised in this country, so I know a few good places to visit."

"Do you think you would be able to write them down for us?"

"Sure! I'll be right back." The waitress practically skipped back into the restaurant.

After finishing their meal, Natsu and the others found themselves downtown. Now equipped with the map of the country given to them by the waitress from the restaurant.

"There is certainly a lot to do here." Erza noted as she looked over the map. It was marked with cities as well as list of attractions. "We may not have time to visit all of before we leave."

"Speaking of which, where are we going to live?" Kagura inquired. "I don't suppose you have a place in mind here in the city?"

"I hadn't actually thought that far." Erza admitted with a small laugh. "I was so caught up in the rush of the city's atmosphere that I forgot."

"The places here look way more expensive than Lucy's place." Happy said. "Can we afford any of them?"

"Why don't we build our own place?" Natsu suggested. "The map says there's a forest outside of town right?"

Everyone looked to the dragon slayer in bewilderment.

"What?" he questioned. "It makes a lot more sense than spending money on a place we're gonna leave anyway. If we build a house we can just leave and not worry about having to pay money. I mean it's not that hard. Happy and I built our house in back Fiore." Everyone remained silent. Natsu was starting to get nervous. "Would you guys say something already? You're freaking me out."

"That idea actually makes sense." His wife finally said in awe.

"I'm surprised you thought of that on your own, Salamander." Kagura confessed with wide-eyes.

"Aye." Happy nodded.

"You're really smart, Papa." Aura said with wonder.

Natsu's burned red and he looked away. "You don't have to make fun of me."

"Shall we find a spot to build?" Erza asked the others.

Kagura nodded.

"Aye!" Happy and Aura chirped.

"Lead the way, Natsu." Erza directed.

"Ok, follow me." Natsu grabbed Aura and placed her on his shoulders - much to her delight - and reached for Erza's hand as he walked past her with a wide smile on his face.

Erza reciprocated and placed her hand in his, smiling warmly as he pulled her along.

"Go, Papa! Go!" Aura commanded, a happy smile on her lips as she pointed ahead to the outskirts of town. "Full speed ahead!"

"Yes! Ma'am!" Natsu saluted. "Let's go, Happy!"

"Aye, sir!"

Kagura and the four of them with a genuine smile of her own.

Their journey had just begun.

* * *

 **Well you guys requested it so here it is. Something to tide you all over until I get around to working on the third story.**

 **Like I said in the Announcements chapter of 7 Years and Counting (If you read it). This won't be anything big or epic. It will just be a bunch of short drabbles about some of the things Natsu and the others will be doing during the year timeskip. Nothing plot important will be in this collection. As such this will be updated sporadically, usually when an idea strikes me so it has no set schedule. I also may have a couple chapters about the other Fairy Tail members, but I haven't decided yet.**

 **As always leave a comment/review with your thoughts and thanks for reading.**


	2. Clash

They had been staring at one another for what seemed like hours. The seconds of inaction slowly ticking away as slender fingers tightly wrapped around the hilts of battle-tested swords. The tension between them had long since reached its peak. Their intuition told them that any subtle movements would signal the restart of the battle. This was the last round.

The sun loomed high overhead, as if awaiting the continuation of the confrontation below.

When the wind shifted directions, Kagura pushed of her right foot in a flash and dashed to the redhead directly in front of her. Switching her grip on Archenemy, she swung as hard as she could, but was blocked by the side of her opponent's blade. The dull clang of blade on sheathe resonated into the sky above.

Kagura's eyes narrowed as the vibrations from the colliding weapons surged up her forearms. _That was a sloppy attack._ She scolded herself. Forcing her body forward, Kagura slid the redhead's foot back enough for the Mermaid to gain leverage.

Erza - realizing her disadvantageous position - pushed back, forcing Kagura to take a step. The redhead quickly summoned another sword, using it to parry Kagura's blade.

The raven-haired warrior regained her footing and their clash of blades began anew. Sparks flew every which way as the clanging of metal on hardened sheathe echoing throughout the fields once more. Their clash was on par with their last at the Grand Magic Games almost a year ago. In some cases even exceeding it.

Fighting for dominance, the two nearly failed to notice the massive fireball quickly descending from the heavens like a comet.

Erza kicked off of Kagura's abdomen and they both slid backwards, watching as the inferno exploded in the grass between them.

The redhead covered her mouth and nose from the dust and debris. "I was careless."

"Gotcha." From the shadows a hand reached for the knight, taking firm possession of her arm.

Unable to fight back, Erza was lifted into the air with ease and thrown back into the cloud of dust, her back colliding with the woman she was facing earlier; sending them both out of the dust cloud and rolling along the ground towards the trees of the forest.

Rising to their feet, the swordswomen found that they were quickly being set upon by a familiar head of pink hair. He was closing in, his fists emitting streams of fire to better speed up his advance.

Natsu raised his arms and the elongated streams of flame became whips, lashing towards his opponents with a frenzied control that only he was capable of.

Erza and Kagura rolled in opposite directions to evade his wing attack and raced forward, their swords at the ready.

When the three met in the middle, their attacks were immediately halted by the sound of a growling stomach.

They instantly stopped, their eyes falling to a pink-haired girl sitting next to a blue cat not too far away from them. The child held her hand over her abdomen to hide, but the gurgling echoed again. The sound had indeed come from her.

"I'm sorry." Aura apologized, her cheeks red from embarrassment.

The three combatants relaxed and turned to her.

"It's perfectly fine, honey." Her mother reassured.

"I was starting to get hungry myself." Her father smiled, patting his own growling stomach.

Kagura - while slightly peeved that their training had been cut short - nodded in agreement with the others. "It's around lunch time anyway. A break might serve us well."

"Let's get something to eat in town!" Happy suggested.

Erza nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. There are quite a few restaurants I saw yesterday that I would like to try." She looked to her daughter. "What about you, Aura?"

Aura smiled wide and nodded. "Yeah! I wanna go too!"


	3. A Father's Love

Most people took the outdoors for granted. It's a shame, but it's just the way of the world. People in the current era really had no desire to stroll leisurely in the forest. There simply wasn't enough time in the day, or rather no one made time during the day.

"It sure is nice out here, right, buddy?"

"Aye."

However, this way of thinking was all but foreign to one Natsu Dragneel and his companion, Happy.

Having been basically raised outdoors, Natsu appreciated all of the bounties that nature had to offer. He loved the smell of the trees, the feel of the breeze on his face, the still waters of both lakes and ponds, and he also enjoyed watching the animals interact with one another. Happy was the same in this regard, having adopted his love of the outdoors from the dragon slayer himself.

"Too bad the others all went into town." Happy commented.

"Yeah, they're missing out."

Natsu and Happy walked a narrow path some few miles from their makeshift home, entering into a rather expansive forest. It reminded them of the jungles of Tenrou Island, what with its immense vines and roots. There were also a vast array of animals strolling about.

Brushing away some shrubs, a collective rumbling erupted from the travelling pair's stomachs.

"Guess it's lunchtime." Said Natsu, placing his hand on his stomach.

"Natsu, what's that?!" Happy pointed.

Natsu looked where Happy directed, seeing the frame of a rather large animal dinosaur before them. It looked to be a cross between an alligator and some sort of dinosaur. The prospect of fresh cooked meat entering their minds, both Natsu and Happy began salivating.

"Let's sneak up on while its back is turned." Natsu suggested, his fist already lit aflame. Happy eagerly nodded and they were off.

Carefully moving through the brush as to not be noticed, Natsu came upon the side of the beast and drew back his arm. In one fluid, yet quick, motion the dragon slayer threw a sizable fire ball at the monster.

The fiery projectile made solid contact with the creature's cheek, sending it sliding on its side through a few of the trees in the distance. When the dust it kicked up settled, it was assuredly dead.

"We did it!" Natsu cheered. "Let's go, Happy!"

"Aye, sir!"

The pair raced towards their downed prey, climbing atop it and shouting in triumph. An angered voice then rang out.

"Who's the bastard that ruined my meal?!" A bitter - and hungry - man walked to the celebrating pair, but when he saw their faces proper, all of his anger disappeared. "Natsu?! Happy?!"

Both of them looked down, their eyes widening in realization at the sight of the man below. "Gildarts?!"

The middle-aged man smiled wide. "How's it going, kid?"

Natsu and Happy jumped down from the monster in excitement. Natsu and Gildarts joined hands – Happy on the former's shoulder – and danced around in a circle.

"What are doing here?" Natsu asked Gildarts.

"I could ask the same thing about you. This a long way from Fiore."

"You know me, just trying to get stronger so I can take you down." Natsu laughed, punching Gildarts in the face.

The S-Class wizard took this hit in stride and punched Natsu back. "You still got a long way to go, kid." This proved to be a fact as his punch sent the dragon slayer into the stratosphere. "Oops. Guess I put too much into that."

"Natsu~!" Happy cried out.

Once Natsu returned to land – with more than a few bumps and bruises – he, Gildarts, and Happy found themselves a spring to relax in after eating the monster Natsu slayed. As the warming waters melted away all of their aches and pains, Natsu and Gildarts began to make up for lost time.

"I heard about what happened with Tartaros." Gildarts said, a hint of remorse in his voice. "Sorry I wasn't there."

"It's not that big a deal. " Natsu reassured. "Everyone made it out safe and we beat the bad guys." He flexed his bicep and grinned. "Fairy Tail always gets the job done when the odds are stacked against us."

Gildarts had to chuckle at Natsu's declaration. "You're right about that. No one keeps our guild down."

The pair leaned back against the rocks as Happy floated by them on his back. The sun was starting to set.

"So, how's married life treating ya?"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb, kid, you know what I'm talking about. You and Erza. How's that going?"

"It's going fine."

"That's good to hear. Gotta admit I would have never guessed you two would be the ones to tie the knot. My money was always on either Lisanna or Lucy. Made me a little jealous too."

Natsu looked to his mentor. "Jealous?"

"Yeah. That Erza sure grew up to be a beauty." Gildarts let one of his lecherous grins slip without his knowledge. "If I was a few years younger I…whew, did it get hotter in here or…" Gildarts turned his head to Natsu and his face went ashen at the dragon slayer's angered glare. It didn't take long for Gildarts to realize that it was Natsu who was responsible for the temperature increase.

"I was only kidding, Natsu! It was just a joke! Honest!" Gildarts nervously waved his hands in front of his face, trying his best to calm down Natsu. Luckily this worked and the spring's temperature returned to normal. Gildarts sighed in relief.

A few more minutes of silence passed before Natsu spoke again.

"Hey, Gildarts, wanna come by our house?"

Gildarts raised an eyebrow at this offer. "You guys have a house near here?"

"Yeah, it's not too far." Happy answered, floating by once more.

Gildarts shrugged and grinned. "What the hell? It's not like I have anywhere else I need to be."

* * *

"It's getting late."

"I know. They should have returned long before now."

Erza, Kagura, and Aura sat at the kitchen table, waiting for Natsu and Happy to return from wherever it was they went. The sun had long since gone down, and Erza and Aura were starting to get worried. Even Kagura found herself just a bit perturbed at the boys' absence.

"Did Salamander make mention of where he and Happy were be going?"

Erza shook her head. "No. All he said was that they were going to take a walk."

"How far did they walk? Into the next country?"

Erza felt a tug on her skirt and looked down, the worried face of her daughter in view.

"Are Papa and Happy ok?"

"Don't worry, honey." Erza smiled and stroked the top of her daughter's head. "They'll be home soon." As soon as she said these words the front door opened, revealing the missing dragon slayer and exceed.

Aura ran to them. "Papa!" she leapt in Natsu's waiting arms.

Natsu smiled and caught her, hugging her tightly in his arms.

"Welcome home!" she smiled.

"Thanks." He stood up, his daughter holding on to his hand. He then looked to Erza and Kagura. "What's up, guys?"

Erza was more than a little irritated by her husband's nonchalant attitude. "'What's up'? Where were you two? We've been waiting for hours."

Natsu and Happy both shrunk in fear of the redhead.

"We went for a walk and lost track of time." Natsu quickly answered, hoping that the reply would soothe his wife's agitated mood. It did very little.

"S-sorry." Happy added.

"Do you have any idea how-"

"Sorry, guys, I had to use the bathroom before we came. Couldn't find a sink so I had to wash my hands in the pond and…oh, hey, Erza!"

The redhead removed her eyes from Happy and Natsu and looked towards the man behind them. He stood a good foot taller than her husband, the moon illuminating his outline and making his slick back brown hair shine even brighter.

"Gildarts?"

"Yo." He waved with a smile. "Natsu and Happy invited me over. Hope I'm not intruding."

Erza - still surprised by his sudden appearance - stepped aside to allow him safe passage. "No, no, not at all. Come in."

"Thanks." Gildarts stepped past Natsu and Happy and into the small home. "This place is pretty cozy. Natsu told me you built it yourselves."

"We did. Would you like something to drink?"

"Yeah. Got any booze?"

Erza narrowed her eyes at him. "No. We don't."

"I know I was just joking." Gildarts laughed. "I'll take some tea if you got it."

"I'll bring it right out. Please have a seat at the table."

"Don't mind if I do." Gildarts sat down and placed his belongings next to his chair. When he saw Kagura next to him he smiled and extended his hand. "Gildarts Clive. Nice to meet you, Ms…?"

"Kagura Mikazuchi." The swordswoman accepted his handshake. "I know who you are. I've heard tales of your exploits."

Gildarts grinned. "Oh really?" He leaned in closer. "I hope they were good things."

Kagura quickly brought Archenemy into his field of vision with her free hand. "I've heard of your womanizing as well."

Gildarts got the message and backed off, a bead of sweat dropping from his forehead as he let go of Kagura's hand. "I see. Good to know."

Kagura lowered her weapon.

Erza returned to the table with Gildarts' tea. "Here you are. I hope you like Jasmine tea with honey."

"It's all the same to me. Thanks, Erza." Gildarts took a sip from the cup.

Natsu sat across from Gildarts, and the crash wizard finally took notice of the child in Natsu's lap.

"Hello, sweetheart." He smiled. "What's your name?"

Aura nuzzled into her father's chest. "Aura…" she muttered.

"Hello, Aura. I'm Gildarts." He reached out his real hand to her, a warming smile on his lips. "I'm a friend of your parents. Nice to meet you."

Aura glanced at Gildarts smiling face and slowly reached out her hand to his. "H-hello."

"Whoa you got quite a grip. Bet you get that from your mom." Gildarts laughed, managing to put a smile on Aura's face.

She let go of her father's vest and faced him proper. "Are you in Fairy Tail too?"

"Yep. I'm not around much though."

"Why?"

"I go on really dangerous jobs that take a really long time to finish."

"How long?"

"Well Decade Quests take about 10 Years. I also went on a century quest. Those last around 100 years."

Aura's eyes widened in shock. "100 years?!"

Gildarts nodded. "100 Years."

"Did you finish it?"

"No. I didn't." he laughed. "Sadly I failed that one."

Aura's eyes trailed down to Gildarts' metal arm, and then to the bandages wrapped around his chest and abdomen. "Is it because you got hurt?"

"Aura." Erza hissed. "That's rude. You shouldn't ask questions like that."

Gildarts chuckled at Erza's stern scolding. "It's alright, Erza. I don't mind telling her. The little lady is just curious. You guys were the same way at her age." He turned back to Aura. "You want to know how I got these injuries?"

Aura nodded.

"I got them from fighting a dragon."

Aura's eyes went wide again. "You fought a dragon?"

"Yep. It was mean one too. It had long black wings, sharp teeth, and claws that could cut through anything."

As Gildarts explained Acnologia's appearance to Aura, everyone else sat in silence. All of their bodies tense. Even Kagura - who had never seen the black dragon until the battle with Tartaros - was on edge. She knew she would never forget the appearance of Acnologia for as long as she drew breath.

"I barely made it out alive." Gildarts continued.

When Erza saw her daughter shaking, she chose to intervene. "Ok I think that's enough for tonight. You'll get nightmares." She grabbed Aura from Natsu's lap. "Time for bed."

Aura yawned and rubbed her eyes. "But I'm not tired."

Erza grinned at her daughter's protest. "That yawn says otherwise. Come on, say goodnight to everyone."

Aura turned and waved to the others. "Goodnight, everybody."

"Goodnight." They all returned.

Erza walked Aura to her room and once she was tucked in, Erza returned to the table.

"Natsu told me you guys saw Acnologia again." Gildarts said, his smile gone.

Erza nodded. "We did. He showed up while we were fighting against Tartaros. We think it was in response to the other dragons emerging."

Gildarts was shocked. "There were more dragons?"

"Yes. They were lying dormant inside their respective dragon slayers." Erza looked to Natsu. "Igneel returned as well."

Gildarts faced Natsu. "That's good isn't it? You were looking for him for the longest time and you finally got to see him." Natsu's sullen mood didn't lift at Gildarts words. "Natsu?"

"Igneel…was killed by Acnologia." Erza explained.

"What?" Once again Gildarts was stunned.

"He tried his best to fight off Acnologia, but the black dragon was just too strong. Igneel gave his life to save us..."

"You don't have to say anymore." Gildarts looked back to Natsu. The dragon slayer was looking down, his bangs covering what was no doubt sadness in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Natsu. I know that must have been hard for you."

"Yeah." The dragon slayer managed.

"Why are you here in Seven, Gildarts?" Happy asked. Trying to steer the conversation into another direction.

"Travelling mostly. I had a job end here not too long ago so I decided to stick around for a bit. See the sights."

"By 'sights' you no doubt mean women." Erza sighed in exasperation.

"Hey come on, don't be like that, Erza." Gildarts laughed. "Cut me some slack." He leaned back in his chair and looked to the ceiling. "I'll probably make my way back to Fiore here pretty soon. Check on the Master and my own little girl." He smiled wide as he thought Cana.

"I'm surprised you managed to find a woman to produce a child with." Kagura bluntly stated. Her opinion of him had already soured.

The crash wizard took her insult in stride. "Me too. I still wonder how I pulled off that one."

"His daughter is Cana Alberona." Erza revealed to Kagura.

"I see." She looked back to the older man ans squinted. "I sort of see the resemblance."

"Really?!" Gildarts glowed with fatherly pride. "I-I mean of course you do!"

"You can stay here for the night if you wish, Gildarts." Said Erza.

"You sure? I wouldn't wanna put you guys out."

"Nonsense. You can sleep on the couch. There's more than enough room."

"Alright. I will." Gildarts accepted with a smile.

* * *

"It's fine, honey. I don't need a Father's day present…aw…I love you too, baby…"

Gildarts nose twitched and he sneezed, abruptly waking himself from his slumber. His eyes slowly opened. It was still nighttime. He rubbed his eyes until his vision cleared and sat up on the couch. He yawned and stretched his arms before scratching his lower back.

"Bathroom…" he mumbled.

He stumbled through a narrow hallway in the dark until he came upon a room that was illuminated by candlelight. He had found his destination. After doing his business and washing his hands he walked back into the living area. That's when noticed the front door was cracked open.

"That's weird." He walked to the door, but just before he closed it he saw something outside. Out in the field in the front of the house was a figure sitting in the grass. Gildarts squinted his eyes, seeing faint traces of pink in the moonlight.

"Natsu?"

He put on his cloak and walked out to the dragon slayer. "Couldn't sleep?"

Natsu looked to him with surprise, he was so focused on the sky that he failed to notice Gildarts' approach. "What are you doing out here?"

"Could ask you the same thing, kid."

Natsu quickly turned his head. "I'm not doing anything."

"Well then…" The S-Class wizard took a seat next to the dragon slayer. "You won't mind if I join ya, right?"

"I don't care."

Natsu looked at Gildarts' smile for a brief moment before looking back up to the starry sky. Gildarts looked up as well, watching as a shooting star passed by.

"So, you want to tell me what's been bugging you?"

"There's nothing bothering me."

"I know you better than that, Natsu. I can tell when you're upset. Whatever it is you can just let it all out. I'm all ears."

Natsu thought of these words for a moment before letting out a long sigh.

"Do you ever feel…like you're not good enough?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like no matter what you do it doesn't matter in the end?" Natsu looked down at the palms of his hands. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, do you ever feel useless?"

"Where is this coming from?"

"When we were fighting Tartaros…a few of us got caught by the enemy. Me, Erza, Aura, and Lisanna. They got us all. Lisanna and I managed to break out but...Erza and Aura were tortured by Tartaros before we saved them." He clenched his hands into tight fists, his anger building. "When Igneel…died." Natsu still had trouble saying that sentence out loud. "There was nothing I could do to stop it. I could only sit there and watch as Acnologia killed him. Just like I couldn't do anything when Erza and Aura were caught. Three people I care about were taken away from me and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I felt like such a useless kid. I thought I was stronger. I thought I could protect them, but I didn't! I couldn't do anything! The same thing happened on Tenrou Island when Acnologia attacked. I was powerless. I told Igneel I would defeat him, but what if I can't?!"

Natsu's fists shook with rage. "What if I can't beat him?! Then what?! Everyone I care about is going to die!" As Natsu wallowed his failure, he felt Gildarts hand on his head. He looked to his mentor, his misted eyes blurring his vision. Even still he could see Gildarts understanding smile.

"I know how you feel." Gildarts admitted.

"Gildarts..."

"I felt the same way when Acnologia came to Tenrou Island." The crash wizard continued. "But I wasn't angry because I couldn't beat him…I was angry because I couldn't protect you guys."

Natsu's eyes widened.

"Fairy Tail is my family, and for a guy like me that never stays in one place too long that's kind of a big deal. Watching you kids grow up made me feel like the parent that I never was to my own daughter." He smiled wryly. "I was never there for Cana when she needed me the most. I guess that's why I always fawn over her now. I'm just trying to make up for lost time."

"But you didn't know that she was daughter back then, right?"

Gildarts shook his head. "That doesn't make things, ok. I should have known, but like Cornelia used to say I was too absorbed in my work to even notice. I know that Cana's way past needing me, but I can't help wanting to stay by her side and guide her along as best I can."

Natsu nodded in understanding.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is you can focus on getting stronger. That's a good goal to have. Become as strong as you can possibly the strongest wizard in the world if you want, but don't forget about why you're doing it."

"Why?" Natsu repeated in confusion.

"You said you wanted to protect those closest to you, didn't you? That's your reason for wanting to be strong."

Natsu's eyes widened in realization.

"You've made yourself a nice little family, Natsu. I wasn't lying when I said envy you a little bit for that. If I wasn't so caught up in myself then perhaps Cornelia and I could have been like you and Erza." Gildarts smile began to wane. "Maybe we could have gave Cana the childhood she deserved instead of the one she got. The one you're trying to give **your** daughter."

Natsu smirked. "I think Cana turned out better without you around."

This made Gildarts laugh. "You're probably right about that." his smile returned. "Your family and friends are your true path to power, Natsu. No one in the world - not a massive black dragon or a black wizard with a death wish - is going to be able to defeat a bond like that. So make sure you don't push them away."

Natsu nodded firmly. "I won't. Thanks, Gildarts."

Gildarts placed his hand back on Natsu's head. "Anytime, kid."

* * *

"Time for me to head out." Gildarts walked out of the house, extending his arms out while he held onto his bag. When he was done he looked back to Natsu and the others with a smile. "Thanks for letting me sleep at your place. I'll see you guys later."

"Wait, Gildarts!" Natsu called, stepping forward.

"Yeah?"

The dragon slayer grinned and flames erupted from his body. "Fight me."

Gildarts sighed. "You can't be serious."

"I should have expected this." Erza grinned.

"Aye." Happy nodded.

"Come on, old man. You scared that'll I beat ya?" Natsu taunted Gildarts, motioning him to come over with his finger.

Gildarts chuckled in amusement and smiled. "Fine, I'll fight ya, but not here. Wouldn't want to mess up your house." He looked to the others. "You guys wanna watch?"

"Yeah!" Aura shouted first. "I wanna see Papa fight Mr. Gildarts!" She looked to Erza, her eyes wide with wonder. "Can we, Mama?"

Erza knew she couldn't fight against her daughter's puppy dog stare. Besides she was also curious to see just what level Natsu was at now. "I have no problem with it. It's been a while since I've seen Gildarts fight myself." She turned to Kagura. "Are you coming?"

Kagura nodded. "I've heard rumors of Gildarts power. I want to see if the stories are true."

"Looks like we got ourselves an audience then." Gildarts grinned. "Follow me."

The group followed Gildarts and Natsu to clearing in the forest. All around them were large roots and trees. It almost looked like cage that locked them all inside.

Kagura looked around the battlefield. "Did he pick this place because of his magic?"

"Kind of." Happy spoke up.

"Gildarts needs the space so his Crash Magic won't leaving any lingering collateral damage." Erza added.

The black-haired swordswoman watched as Natsu and Gildarts stood across from one another, their respective magics manifesting as auras around their bodies. As expected Natsu's was raging like a wild fire, but Gildarts' power continued to explode outward like a geyser.

 _Is he really that powerful?_ Kagura thought to herself.

"Go get him, Papa!" Aura cheered.

"Ready when you are, Natsu! Come at me!" Gildarts challenged.

"You asked for it!"

Natsu pushed off of his left foot and charged Gildarts, his fist ignited. He swung at Gildarts with a left hook, but the Crash wizard didn't even stagger as he blocked it with his metal hand.

"Gonna have to do better than that."

Natsu lit his other fist and swung, but Gildarts evaded. "Dammit!" the dragon slayer ignited his foot.

 _ **FIRE DRAGON TALON**_

He lifted his leg and kicked in an arc. Gildarts ducked. He then came up, pushing Natsu back with only one hand.

The others watched the battle. Each of them making their own assessment of the first exchange.

"He's toying with him." Kagura observed of Gildarts. Even though the battle just started, she saw no way for Natsu to win. The gap in power was too great.

"It certainly looks that way." Erza nodded with a straight face, though internally she cheered her husband on.

"Aye." Happy nodded.

"You can do it, Papa! Don't give up!" Aura was blissfully unaware of the gap in power between her father and Gildarts, but even if she knew she would cheer her father on.

Natsu slid back from Gildarts push. His body upside down, he placed his hand along the dirt to slow his momentum. He turned and ran back to Gildarts, all too eager to continue the fight.

Natsu jumped into the air, his fist covered in a much bigger flame than before. He thrust his fist down towards Gildarts.

The Crash wizard covered his upper body with his cloak as the flames exploded in front and around him, sending him sliding back a good distance on his heels.

"Whoa!" Happy and Aura shouted.

Kagura's eyebrows raised in surprise. "That was impressive."

Erza's smirk stretched into a smile. "Good job, Natsu." She whispered.

"Damn. He got me pretty good there." Gildarts chuckled to himself. He looked down at the ground, seeing just how far back he had slid. He reminisced on their battle on Tenrou Island – when the dragon slayer only managed to move him a few centimeters – and smiled.

"I told ya I got stronger!" Natsu laughed at his victory, his chest proudly stuck out with his hands on his hips. He was so lost in himself that he failed to notice the dinosaur approaching from behind.

"What is that creature?!" Kagura shouted pointing at the long-necked beast.

"Natsu, get out of the way!" Erza called.

"Huh?" Natsu looked to his wife for a second before the dinosaur reached down and bit down on his upper body, pulling the dragon slayer into the air. Natsu's legs flailed and thrashed from outside of the dinosaur's mouth. His frightened muffles heard by the others.

"Waahhh! Natsu~!" Happy wailed.

"Papa!" Aura shouted.

"Hey you!" Gildarts yelled to the dinosaur. The beast looked to him and its face drained of all color. Gildarts stepped back, the muscles in his right arm tightening as he gathered power. "Put him down!" He punched the ground as hard as he could. The impact from his crash magic cracked the ground for miles, destroying a small mountain ridge in the distance.

The dinosaur was caught in the impact, letting go of Natsu as it fell to the ground. Dead. Natsu fell next to it, relieved that he was no longer dinosaur food, but at the same time frightened of Gildarts' strength.

"Are you ok?" Erza asked Aura. She was holding the child in her arms to shield her from Gildarts attack.

"I'm ok, but what about Papa?"

"Just how much power does he have?" Kagura asked in shock as, looking to Gildarts. She thought of challenging him after Natsu was done, but after that display of force she thought better of it. She was currently holding Happy by the tail, the exceed having been knocked loopy by the impact of Gildarts' attack.

Gildarts let out a relieved sigh. "That takes care of that." He smirked and looked back to Natsu. "Ready to go again?"

Natsu sat on his knees a few meters away from Gildarts, his entire body shaking with fear. He looked to the mountain – which was still collapsing – then back to Gildarts. He quickly shook his head from side to side, refusing his mentor's request to continue.

"What? Come on, you can't give up now." Gildarts said in irritation. "It was just getting good." Natsu shook his head again and Gildarts sighed in defeat. "Alright then."

* * *

Gildarts checked his bag and stood up from the ground. "Time for me to leave for real this time."

"Safe travels, Gildarts." Erza smiled.

"Thanks. You too. I'll tell the Master you're all doing alright when I see him."

"Thank you."

Gildarts looked to Natsu and outstretched his hand, the dragon slayer firmly shaking it. "See you next time, Natsu. Don't forget what I told you.""

The pink-haired slayer nodded with a smile of his own. "I won't. See you around."

"Bye, Gildarts!" Happy said.

"Bye Bye, Mr. Gildarts!" Aura smiled.

"It was nice to meet you." Kagura bowed.

"See you guys later." Gildarts walked away from the group, waving his arm as he faded from the view.

Within a few minutes he was out of the forest and in a prairie decorated with rather large rocks. He grinned to himself as he thought back on Natsu and the others. "That kid sure has grown up a lot since I've been away." He looked up to the passing clouds. As if reflecting his inner desires, one of the clouds formed into the image of Cana, a small heart floating next to her as she winked at her father.

Gildarts heart leapt in his chest and he smiled wide with fatherly love pumping in his heart. "Don't worry, honey! Daddy's coming to see ya!" he yelled, throwing his fist into the air.

* * *

Cana's body suddenly shook as she placed her mug on the bar top. "Ok. That was weird."

"You alright down there?' The bartender called, having seen her sudden spasm.

"Yeah, just got this weird feeling."

"Probably because you're drinking booze at 8 in the morning."

"Hey, don't judge me." Cana looked at her reflection in the amber liquid, her irritated stare softening. "Yeah, you're probably right." She moved the mug away. "Got any water?"

"Coming right up."

When her new drink was brought, she took a quick sip and looked to the sun overhead.

"I wonder what Dad is doing right now."

* * *

 **New chapter! In case you guys didn't notice, this is a rewrite of of sorts of Chapter 417 (Lone Journey II). Haven't used Gildarts much (if at all) so I decided this would be the best place to utilize him.**

 **This is also part one of my series or Christmas Posts!**

 **From today until Christmas I will be putting new chapters for a couple of my stories, culminating in a very special present on Christmas Day! Hopefully you guys will be excited for that.**

 **Leave a comment/review and thanks for reading! :)**


	4. Not So Silent Night

It was almost night time, but the snow refused to let up.

No matter how much Aura wished for the fierce winds to stop, they raged on. Ignoring her pleas out of spite for something she unknowingly did. Eventually the snow piled up so high against the window that she could barely see the sky.

"Aura, come by the fire." Her mother called. "You'll catch a cold if you stand there too long."

"Ok." The child hopped from her stool and walked to the fireplace where her mother and Happy sat. Her father started the fire a few hours prior, but at present he was nowhere to be find – neither was her aunt Kagura.

"It's been snowing forever." Happy whined. "I want go outside."

"Iceberg really does live up to its namesake." Erza commented. She looked to the window again. Another few centimeters of snow had piled on the ground. She sighed in exhaustion. It would be her luck that they would decide to migrate to this country in the midst of December.

Happy shivered in the cold, his little teeth chattering. "I wish I was an Ice Wizard like Gray."

Erza briefly thought of the ice wizard in question, as well as the other members of Fairy Tail. What were they doing right now? Where were they? Were they still in Magnolia? She had no idea, but in her heart she wished them all well in whatever they were doing.

Aura tugged on her mother's sleeve, bringing her back to the outside world. "Can we open presents now, Mama?" Aura pointed to the evergreen tree in the corner of the small home they occupied.

It didn't have much in the way of decoration – save for the ornament at the top in the shape of the Fairy Tail emblem – but it did have a good number of wrapped presents at the bottom. Ten at Aura's last count.

Erza shook her head at her eager daughter. "Not until your father and Kagura return."

"They've been gone for a really long time." Said Happy, once again looking out of the window. "I hope they didn't get lost."

The three sat in front of the crackling fire with nothing but the sound of popping fires from the inside, and wild winds from the outside hitting their ears. It was a tranquil sort of quiet. One that was comfortable to be a part of.

As Aura watched the flames crackle and the wood break from the heat, her head titled forward. Her eyelids slowly closing. Her body bent forward a few centimeters before she quickly jerked back upright. Her eyes widened, she looked to both her mother and to Happy, the former offering a warm smile.

Erza gently patted her leg.

"Would you like to rest on my lap until the other's return?" she offered.

Aura slowly shook her head in protest. "I can stay up." She proclaimed, wiping her eyes free of sleep. "I'm a big girl." Her eyes narrowed in determination, but the redness around her pupils made her mother chuckle internally. Her attempts at being a "big girl" never ceased to amuse.

Nonetheless, Erza relented to her daughter's claim. "You're right, you are. I apologize." She folded crossed her legs back, effectively rescinding her lap pillow offer.

After a few more minutes the fire crackled again, breaking off more small pieces of the kindling.

During the interval between crackles, Aura had found herself a piece of paper and began drawing. Intensely focused on what she was doing, she furiously rubbed her green crayon across the paper as if she was angry at it. This caught Happy's attention.

"What you drawing, Aura?"

"The Christmas tree." She answered simply. "Wanna see?"

"Um...ok."

She held up the drawing to the Exceed. It was crude - which was expected at her age - but at least one could make out that it was indeed a Christmas tree. Not the one they had, but a Christmas tree nonetheless. Normally Happy would have commented on all of the faults in the picture: the top was much bigger than the bottom, the so called "branches" were disproportionate at best, and he was sure the bark of the tree wasn't black, but through it all Happy smiled in approval.

"That looks great!"

"Thank you." She stood up and walked over to Erza. "Look, Mama!"

She basically shoved the picture into her mother's face, forcing her eyes up from the book she was reading – something about a young princess who fell in love with an unruly peasant from a neighboring town. "I see." She smiled. "That's a beautiful drawing, Aura."

The young girl beamed with pride and returned to her spot on the floor, adding more to the drawing in an attempt to – as she put – "give it more flair".

When asked by her mother where she learned that phrase Aura stated she heard Reedus say it once or twice while he was painting something. While Reedus was an honorable fellow, a part of Erza worried what words and phrases her daughter might have learned from some of the guild's "less honorable" members. She still had worries that one or two of Macao's bad habits rubbed off on her daughter during the seven years he watched over her.

As the fire began to die down, Erza grabbed the metal poker and moved around some of the wood, hoping to keep the flames going for just a little while longer. If worst came to worse she could always reignite the flames with her Flame Empress sword if Natsu hadn't yet returned, but she would have preferred to keep the house in one piece.

A knock came at the door and everyone turned around. Aura was the first to speak.

"They're back!"

Erza walked to the door – the knob nearly freezing her hand numb – and opened it. As she expected Natsu and Kagura were on the other side, but what she didn't expect was for her husband to be carrying the swordswoman on his back.

"Thanks, Erza." Natsu smiled. "I was actually starting to get chilly." He walked past the redhead and gently set Kagura down on a chair in the living area.

"Thank you, Salamander." said Kagura.

"Don't mention it." Natsu gave her a brief smile before bringing the bags in his hands to the tree.

Aura ran to Kagura with concern. "Aunt Kagura, what's wrong?!"

"What happened?" Happy asked with equal worry.

"While on our way back home, Salamander and I were ambushed by brigands."

"Brigands?!" Happy shrieked in fear. "...What are brigands."

"Bandits essentially." Erza answered.

"One of them managed to sneak up on me and cause me to lose my footing. I was careless." Kagura finished with a grimace.

"Are you alright, Natsu?" Happy called.

"Yeah. Those guys weren't tough, but we still beat them." He reached into the bags he brought inside, pulling out what looked to be colored balls with little hooks on them. He began placing them on random branches of the tree.

Aura's eyes shook with concern and worry as she looked to the injured Kagura. "Are you ok?"

Kagura smiled at the child. "Yes I am fine. I need only rest my ankle for a day or so."

"That's odd. I've never encountered Brigands in this area before." Erza said, walking to Kagura.

"They must have waited until the snow fall intensified to make their move." Kagura reasoned. "Those lot are usually cowards."

Erza's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I suppose you're right." She then looked to her husband, finally taking notice of the balls on the tree. "What are you doing, Natsu?"

"Hold on." He replied. "Almost done." He placed what looked to be a gem in the middle of the Fairy Tail emblem on the treetop before taking a step back. "Blow out the candles would ya, Happy?"

"Aye, sir." Happy blew out all of the candles and awaited whatever it was that Natsu was trying to show them all.

"Watch this." The dragon slayer snapped his fingers and all of the balls started to glow. "Merry Christmas, everyone."

The other's eyes opened in awe at the luminous spheres.

"Where did you get these?" Erza asked, her eyes marveling at the beauty of the scene.

"There was a shop in town selling them and I thought they'd look good on the tree. What do you guys think?"

"Pretty." Aura and Happy said.

"They are nice." Kagura smirked.

Erza walked to Natsu, interlocking her fingers with his. "They're beautiful, Natsu."

"Yeah. I thought so too." He looked back to the others and smiled wide. "Whose ready to open some presents?!"

"Aye!" Happy and Aura chirped. They ran to the tree and began to pick out their gifts.

Aura grabbed two of the boxes and handed them to the injured Kagura. "These are yours, Aunt Kagura."

"Thank you, Aura." Kagura graciously took the boxes from the child and watched as she bounded back to the tree.

After a good two or three hours of excitedly opening and playing with their gifts, Natsu, Aura, and Happy all laid near the fireplace. Aura slept peacefully with her head on her snoring father's chest. Her body covered under the wool blanket that Erza and Kagura picked out while she cradled in her arms the dragon plush given to her by her father. Happy laid next to them, still holding on to the piece of fish that Natsu had gotten for him. Apparently it was one of the rarest breeds in the country.

Kagura looked over the bracelet that Aura had gotten for her while Erza wrapped her ankle in a bandage. The bracelet wasn't too expensive, but that didn't bother Kagura in the slightest. To her the thought was what mattered most. Next to her elbow on the table was a cloth given to her by Erza. It was what one used in order to clean their blade.

The redhead noticed Kagura eyeing the small cloth whenever they passed the shop in town where it was displayed. Supposedly the swordswoman was fond of the little bunny face in the bottom right corner of the cloth.

Erza received a jacket from Aura, as well as a necklace with a red gem in the center from Natsu. She also got a book from Happy. Another romance to add to her collection.

"So are you going to tell me what actually happened?"

Kagura looked down at the redhead. "What do you mean?"

"How did you really twist your ankle?"

"I told you. A brigand ambush."

"Yes I heard that excuse already. What I want to know is what really happened."

"That is what happened." Kagura winced when she felt the gauze tighten around her bone. "What are you doing?!" she shouted at Erza. "Not so tight."

"I apologize." The redhead smiled facetiously. "My hand slipped. Now, what happened?"

"For the last time it was brigands…ow!"

"Sorry, my hand slipped again."

"You are beyond childish."

"Says the one lying about an injury."

The two stared intensely at one another for a few seconds before Kagura finally capitulated. She sat back in her seat and looked away from Erza, her cheeks starting to turn red. "Fine. I'll tell you what happened…."

* * *

"Hurry, Salamander! If we don't move faster the snow will block us from leaving town!"

"Kagura, wait up!"

The swordswoman – not watching where she was going - stepped on a sheet of ice and slipped, letting out a rather girlish - yet still cute - squeal as she fell on her butt in the snow.

Natsu finally reached her, trying his best to stifle his laughter. "Are you ok?" he snickered.

"One cackle and I will kill you where you stand."

Natsu successfully controlled his fits and cleared his throat. "Can you stand?" He reached his hand down to her, but she shrugged him off.

"Yes I can stand. I'm not a child that needs…ah!" Kagura felt a sharp pain in her right ankle and fell to bottom again.

"You ok?!" Natsu called in worry.

Kagura reached for her ankle, wincing as soon as she touched it.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked.

"My ankle." Kagura pointed. "I must have sprained it when I fell."

Natsu crouched down, his back facing Kagura.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Climb on. I'll carry you back home."

"I don't need your help." Kagura looked away, her embarrassment emblazoned on her face.

"You can either climb on and we both go home and warm up, or you can stay here and freeze. Your choice."

Kagura put her pride aside and wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck. He stood his arms under Kagura's knees.

"All set?" He asked.

"Yes." Kagura looked to the side, her cheeks still red.

"Back home we go." Natsu began to walk, Kagura lightly bouncing on his back.

As her feet swayed over his waist, she felt the pain in her ankle subside. She also felt it getting warmer.

"Is this your magic at work?" she asked Natsu.

"Yeah." he nodded. "Thought it would help."

"It does. Thank you."

"No problem."

"You will tell no one about this." She warned.

Natsu grinned in amusement. "Ok, but everyone's gonna ask why you're on my back. We need some kind of story."

Kagura thought of a solution to this problem in silence. She then thought of the perfect explanation. "We were attacked by Brigands on the way back home." she said.

Natsu's grin widened into a smile. "Works for me."

* * *

 **MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE, Well Christmas Eve. Here is just a small one-shot about what the Dragneel did on Christmas during their travels, its not much, but I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Also, I have a special gift for later, so hopefully you will be ready for that.**

 **Thanks for reading! :)**


	5. Resolutions

Kagura watched as the clouds slowly passed by, periodically hiding the sun away from view. Feeling uncharacteristically sluggish, she yawned and stretched out her arms; falling to her back on the grass. It was an odd feeling. It had been ages since she was comfortable enough to do something like this. She didn't even bring Archenemy with her.

The snow in Iceberg melted a week ago, thanks in part to a warm front from the south. Erza joked that it was Fiore calling for them to return. A more exact explanation was given to the group while in the town of Rime.

Iceberg was not like other countries. Despite the name, their winter – while very harsh - only lasted a total of two months, before giving way to a relatively comfortable spring and summer for the rest of the year. Apparently Kagura and the others arrived at the tail end of winter. They were surprised when they saw people in less clothing as early as late December.

Kagura closed her eyes and wondered just how things were in Fiore. Her master was all too accepting of her taking a leave of absence from Mermaid Heel when she requested. Beth, Risley, and Arana were ok with it as well even though they didn't want her to leave.

Millianna was a different story.

"Why are you leaving?" the cat girl desperately plead.

"We've been over this, Millianna."

"But I still don't understand. Is this about what happened to Aura?"

Kagura abruptly stopped packing her bag, giving Millianna the answer she needed.

"It is isn't it? What happened to her wasn't your fault, Kagura. Erzy and Natsu don't blame you."

"I know that."

"Then why are you leaving?"

Kagura resumed packing. "…It's just something I have to do."

"Then I'm going too."

"No. You will stay here."

Millianna shook her head in protest. "If you're leaving the guild then I'm coming with you-"

"Millianna!"

The cat girl straightened at the shout of her name. She watched with widened eyes as Kagura turned her head to her. She was taken aback by the small grin on her friends lips.

"Stay here and watch over the others. I will return. I promise."

"Kagura…"

The raven haired swordswoman stood up, hoisting her now full travelling pack onto her shoulders. "My train is leaving in an hour." She made her way to the door.

Despite her sadness she smiled as wide as she could, wiping a tear from her eye. "Take good care of Erzy and Aura. I'll be here when you get back."

Kagura grinned. "Thank you, Millianna." With that, Kagura exited the door.

When Kagura's eyes opened, she was greeted by the sight of Erza standing over her.

"So here is where you were hiding." She smiled.

Kagura blinked a few times to clear her vision before sitting up. "Where are the others?"

Erza sat down next to Kagura, the swordswoman giving her a little more room by scooting over. "Resting. They want to make sure they're ready for tonight."

"Maybe you should join them."

Erza chuckled at Kagura's remark. "From the looks of it I should be suggesting the same to you." Erza reached over to Kagura, pulling a few blades of grass from out of her hair. "Hold still. You should pay more attention to your personal appearance-"

Kagura brusquely swiped her hand away. "Stop it. You're not my mother."

Erza retracted her hand with a firm expression of regret. "I apologize. Perhaps that was too much."

Kagura looked at Erza's sorrowful eyes and sighed. "No…it's fine. I overreacted." She brushed the remaining blades of grass out of her own hair.

"Something bothering you?"

Kagura looked back to the clouds. "It's not important."

Erza reached out again, this time placing her hand on top of Kagura's. "It is to me."

Kagura quickly jerked back, her cheeks painted red. "I told you to stop that."

Erza giggled. "That's what big sisters are for."

"I'm older than you." Kagura irritably reminded.

"In body, but my mind is much more mature." Erza pointed at her left temple to illustrate her point. Kagura rolled her eyes.

"Saying that only highlights your immaturity."

Erza faked offense at the remark. "How rude."

This managed to make Kagura grin.

Erza stood up, brushing the blades of grass from her skirt before reaching her hand to Kagura. "The sun is beginning to set. We should wake the others and head into town before the crowds.

"Ok." She nodded and took Erza's hand. The redhead pulled Kagura to her feet and the two set off for home.

* * *

Kagura hated crowds. The constant number of people rudely bumping into her was enough to drive her insane. This time she brought Archenemy, and it proved to come in handy very early on when she nearly separated a head from the shoulders of a man who was drunkenly hitting on her.

Despite arriving in the park before the sun had even fully set, Kagura and her family still found themselves at a disadvantage when finding a spot. Eventually they were able to secure a spot near one of the large oak trees.

"We're back! Sorry we took so long."

Kagura didn't look as Natsu and Happy returned to the blanket. Foods from the stalls in hand. He handed everyone what they ordered.

"Thank you." Erza reached for her cup of takoyaki. "Were the lines long?"

"Yeah." Natsu sat between his wife and Kagura. "I didn't realize there were so many people in this town."

"I think it's about as big as Magnolia." Happy commented, biting into his slice of fish.

"Probably."

Aura loudly slurped her noodles, earning a chuckle from her mother.

"Don't eat so fast, Aura. You'll get sick."

Aura nodded as she sucked in a lingering noodle. "Ok, Mama." She looked to Kagura, offering her food to her. "Want some? It's really good."

Kagura softly smiled and shook her head. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm fine. Enjoy your food."

"Are you sure that drink is all you want, Kagura?" Natsu asked. "They've got way more stuff up there."

Kagura nodded. "Yes. This is all I want."

Erza looked at Kagura ruefully, but before she could say anything a loud whistling broke through the sky.

"It's starting!" Happy shouted.

A line of light shot into the sky before exploding out into a burst of color. Three more lights followed after, each exploding out into more colors.

Aura's eyes were wide with wonder and she quickly looked back to the adults and Happy. "Can we get closer?!" she excitedly requested.

"Yeah, let's go!" Natsu eagerly stood up and hoisted Aura onto his shoulders. When he looked back to Erza and Kagura, they were still sitting on the blanket. "You guys coming?"

"We'll join you in a minute. Go on without us." Erza said.

"We'll save you a spot." Natsu accepted. "Come on, Happy."

"Aye, sir!" fish still in his mouth, Happy flew behind Natsu and Aura as they made their way to the river bank.

The fireworks exploded throughout the night sky, coating the stars in a myriad of bright colors.

"Are you still angry?" Erza asked Kagura.

"What?"

"Jellal. Do you still hate him?"

Kagura didn't answer, instead she tightly gripped the fabric of the blanket beneath her shaking her fingers. Her eyes narrowed and pupils dilated. Another year had gone by without her brother's killer being brought to justice by her hand. Even face to face with Jellal she found herself unable to enact her revenge upon him. It was frustrating. Just what was she doing now? Was sparing Jellal's life really the right thing to do? How could she move forward?

"Whoa! Look at that one!" Natsu pointed to a purple and green firework.

"Pretty!" Aura gasped.

"Wow…" Happy marveled.

Erza reached her arm around Kagura's shoulder and pulled her close, placing her head on hers. "It's ok to still have those feelings. I can only imagine how you feel, but you don't have to hide that side from us. We won't judge you. I said before that we're all a family. We will accept all of you."

Kagura looked out and saw Aura standing before her and Erza. The child was reaching out her hand.

"You're gonna miss the fireworks." She smiled.

Kagura returned her smile. "You're right." She grabbed Aura's hand and found herself being pulled along by the child with Erza close behind.

When they returned to where Natsu and Happy stood, Kagura was once again greeted by wide smiles.

"What took you two so long?" the dragon slayer asked.

"Yeah. You missed half of the show already." Happy added.

"Look!" Aura pointed back to the sky, where multiple fireworks started to go off one after the other.

"It seems like this is the finale." Erza said.

Kagura looked to the fireworks and her eyes widened. One after another, a kaleidoscope of color burst into the darkness, illuminating everything below for a few second before the next light took its place. It was beautiful.

A final light soared higher and higher into the night, and with a loud pop it formed into a shifting array of colors. Starting with red, the firework seemed to take on a life of its own as its color changed to orange, to yellow, to green, to blue, to indigo, before finally ending on violet and fading away.

Kagura's eyes still wide with wonder she was briefly jerked back to this same day years ago when she and Simon were still in Rosemary. Taking what meager savings they had left, Simon bought himself and Kagura sparklers.

They lit them, the bright lights in the night filling Kagura with the same wonder and warmth that she was feeling now.

"Aunt Kagura?" Aura tugged on the swordswoman's sleeve to get her attention.

"Y-yes? What is it?"

"Why are you crying?"

"What? I'm not-"Kagura felt a warm liquid flow down her cheek and reached to it with her free hand. She was indeed crying.

Everyone else looked at her with warm smiles.

"You remembered something." Erza said.

Kagura wiped away the errant tear and nodded. "Yes…I did."

"Happy New Year, Aunt Kagura."

Kagura looked down at Aura's smiling face and nodded, squeezing the child's hand just a bit tighter. "Yes. Happy New Year, Aura." She then looked to the others and smiled even wider. "Happy New Year."

* * *

 **HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I wanted to thank you all for following me throughout the year and giving feedback on my stories. You all were instrumental in getting me where I am right now and I can't thank you all enough.**

 **I know this chapter feels a bit rushed, but I was eager to get something out before the year was up. Hopefully in the next year I can update a few of my more "forgotten" stories. Until then you all have a great new year and thanks for reading!**

 **Onward to 2016!**


	6. A Hero Returns

"Do we really need this much food?" Kagura grumbled, narrowing her eyes as she read over the grocery list given to her by Erza. It was her turn to go grocery shopping, and she was hating every second of it.

The sun was going down, and the street lights were starting to come on. "This is because of Salamander and the cat. They eat far too much."

Aura rubbed her tired eyes and yawned. "Aunt Kagura, I'm sleepy."

The swordswoman looked down to the child holding her hand.

"This is why I suggested you stay behind." Kagura sighed. "We're almost finished. We have one more stop to make. Bear with it until then."

Aura whined in dissatisfaction.

Kagura continued through the crowd. Even in dusk the streets were nigh traversable. Thanks to Archenemy being affixed to her hip, the townspeople gave her a wide berth. Of course Kagura would never use her blade to strike down an innocent, but the less the people in town knew, the better.

"Outta my way!"

Coming close to the market district, Kagura and Aura were forcibly pushed to the side by a man running past.

"Bastard." Kagura spat. She looked to Aura, who had fallen onto her butt on the ground. "Are you ok? Did he hurt you?"

Aura shook her head. "No. I'm ok."

"Good." Kagura helped Aura to her feet and patted the dust from her dress when she heard a woman shout.

"Help! That man stole my bag!"

Kagura looked back to the fleeing man. "So not only is he rude, but he's a thief as well. Get behind me, Aura"

Aura nodded and did as she was told, but before Kagura could draw Archenemy, someone else ran past her.

The second stranger jumped high into the air, their long shadow looming over the thief in the moonlight.

"Stop there, criminal!" they shouted.

"Crap!" the thief was pounced on by the mysterious figure. His face forced onto the stone road. He felt his arm tingle as his pursuer placed their knee on his forearm. "My arm!" he shouted. "You're breaking it!"

"A villain such as you should be lucky that's all I'm doing." The Samaritan reached for the bag next to the man's head. "I'll be taking that."

The bag's owner ran to them, her eyes filled with tears of joy. "Thank you so much!" she graciously took the bag, lovingly holding it to her body. "My mother gave me this before she passed."

"I'm glad I was able to reunite you with something so precious then. Be sure to take better care of it in the future."

The woman nodded. "I will! Thank you so much!"

"It was no trouble." The hero then stood up, bringing the criminal along with them. "I'm taking you to the authorities." She said to him.

The townspeople – now crowded around the scene – all cheered.

"That's her isn't it?!"

"Yeah it has to be! It's Fairy Woman!"

"Fairy Woman?" Kagura repeated, her confusion iteadily increased the more she heard the townspeople cheer.

"I never thought I'd get to see her in person."

"She's so pretty."

"I wonder what she looks like under that mask."

"I feel so much safer with her around to protect us!"

"Wow!" Aura gasped.

Kagura looked to this 'Fairy Woman' as she approached them.

She wore a skintight black leotard with white gloves and fishnet stockings. She also sported a cat tail and ears, her rather sizable mask covering a good portion of her face. The last thing Kagura noticed was her long red hair.

 _Is that really the attire of a supposed "hero"?_ Kagura thought. She narrowed her eyes. _Actually, she looks rather familiar._ Her eyes began to widen. _No...it can't be...why would she...?_

Fairy Woman stopped in front of Kagura and Aura. "Were you two hurt?" she asked. "I saw this ruffian run into you while making his getaway." She tugged on the man's arm again.

"Ow! I said I was sorry!"

Fairy Woman hit the thief in the back of the head to silence him. "Quiet, you!" she ordered.

"We're fine." Kagura said. "He only startled us."

"Well I'm glad you weren't seriously hurt. If you'll excuse me, I have to make sure this villain receives the proper punishment for his crime." Fairy Woman gave a short bow and walked past Aura and Kagura, the cheers of the townspeople still following her.

"She was so cool! Right, Aunt Kagura?!" Aura excitedly asked. She was now fully awake.

"Yes. She was." Kagura said half-heartedly.

* * *

Kagura sat at the kitchen table, her eyes focused on Erza's back as the redhead and her daughter washed the dishes from breakfast. Natsu and Happy had gone fishing for the day, so the girls found themselves alone.

"Then she came in like bam! And beat up the bad guy!"

"Did she now? That's very impressive. She sounds like quite the hero."

"Yeah! She was awesome!"

Aura had been talking nonstop about meeting Fairy Woman the previous day, and Erza listened to every word with a smile.

Kagura on the other hand was less than enthused about the costumed vigilante. There was something…familiar about her, and the mermaid aimed to prove her suspicions right.

"She butted her nose in where it didn't belong." she interjected from the table.

Erza's ears twitched at this and she and Aura turned to face her.

"What do you mean by that, Kagura?" Erza asked.

"It is as I said." Kagura explained. "That 'Fairy Woman' inserted herself in a situation that did not require her interference."

"From what Aura said, she recovered the woman's bag and caught the thief. That sounds pretty heroic to me." Erza defended.

Kagura noticed Erza's tone getting more and more agitated. "I could have easily handled the thief. That woman and her gaudy costume had no business being there." Noticing Erza's eyebrow twitch at the word "gaudy", Kagura internally smirked. It seems her hunch was right on the mark. But she had to be sure.

"Who in their right mind would wear such an ensemble in public? She looked as if she had just come from some brothel."

"I'll have you know that spandex is perfectly functional for battle!" Erza shrieked. "The fishnets also allow for freer movement of the legs!"

Erza's sudden outburst caused Aura to look at her with surprise.

Kagura grinned. She had Erza right where she wanted her. She had won.

"I never said what her outfit looked like."

Erza's face slowly turned red from embarrassment. Seeing no use in talking herself out of this, the knight made quick escape from the kitchen.

"E-excuse me!"

"Wait, Momma! Where are you going?!"

Erza slammed her room door behind her, leaving Aura even more confused.

"What's wrong? Is she sick?" She turned to Kagura for the answer.

"I think we just found out something your mother was trying to keep secret."

"What secret?"

Erza dug under the bed and found her Fairy Woman costume. She squeezed the fabric tightly in her fingers, her embarrassment growing by the second. "How could I be so careless?!" she shouted.

"I'll tell you when you're a little older." Kagura said to Aura, placing her hand on the child's head.

Aura simply nodded as her mother's embarrassed ramblings continued to echo out into the hall.

* * *

 **I tried to make this chapter a bit more humorous and the first thing that popped into my head was the Fairy Woman omake. I just had this headcanon that Erza still had the costume, so I wanted to incorporate it into the story.**

 **Hopefully you all enjoyed it.**


	7. A Calming Embrace

The night was quiet. So quiet in fact that even the insects and animals refused to break the silence by making sounds. It was an odd phenomena, but for the couple watching the stars, it was a comfortable one.

Natsu rested at the base of a large oak tree at the top of a hill. His wife comfortably sitting between his legs while his arms wrapped around her abdomen, a blanket wrapped around the both of them to help endure the chilly night air. The two had been in this position since the sun set some two hours ago, but neither showed signs of moving anytime soon.

"It's quite peaceful tonight."

"Yeah."

Their day was a long one. After a rigorous training session with Kagura that lasted well into the afternoon, Natsu and Erza spent time with Aura for the duration of the day. Their daughter had been steadily writing letters to Asuka, detailing what she had seen on their journey so far, and wanted to get a souvenir for her friend.

Natsu and Erza happily obliged and took Aura into town, but the family's shopping plans were abruptly put on hold when they ran afoul of thieves stealing money from the local bank. Natsu and Erza managed to subdue them, but in true Fairy Tail fashion they destroyed multiple buildings in the process. As penance they were forced to pay for the damages – despite Natsu's fire-fueled protests. In the end the only thing they could afford was a little dog trinket worth 1200 jewel.

"How much money do we have left?" Natsu asked warily.

"According to Kagura we barely have enough to buy food for the next two days." his wife sighed.

"Can't we just ask one of the guilds around here to throw us a bone and give us a job?"

"I don't think it works that way, Natsu."

"Why not?"

"How would you feel if an outsider from another country burst into Fairy Tail and demanded to take a job?"

Natsu thought of this question for a moment. "I would punch them in the nose." He answered simply.

"Exactly. That is the reaction you should expect from these guilds as well. Don't worry, we'll find a way to secure money. I'm sure there are plenty of odd jobs that don't require guild affiliation. I'll got to the local council branch tomorrow and ask."

Natsu seemed pacified by this and settled back against the tree.

A sweet scent slowly wafted into his open nostrils. Strawberry. He never got tired of that smell. To him it signified that this was indeed real. This moment and her. Being close to Erza felt good. It felt normal. There was nothing else like it. Unconsciously, or perhaps deliberately, he tightened his hold on her waist.

"Is something else wrong?" Erza asked her husband, feeling the increase in tension.

"No. Nothing's wrong."

"Are you sure? You should know that you don't have to hide anything from me. If something is bothering you, tell me."

"Really, Erza, I'm fine." He smiled. He knew his wife was skeptical of his answer, but he was grateful when she let out an accepting sigh.

"Fine."

Erza shifted a bit more in her husband's arms, finally managing to rest the back of her head on the upper part of his chest, the top of her head nestled comfortably under his chin. Her eyes drifted up to the sky, watching with her husband as the clouds slowly drifted along over the stars and moon.

"I wonder if the others are looking at the same sky we are." She said.

"Probably." Her husband commented.

"Do you think we made the right decision? Was leaving Fiore the right thing to do?"

"You think it was wrong?" Natsu wasn't being coy, he was genuinely curious. Erza was the one who proposed they leave Fiore, so it rightfully confused him that she was starting to have second thoughts.

"I don't know." Erza replied, her eyes downcast as she lightly traced her husband's hands with the tips of her fingers. "Part of me thinks we ran away from our problems instead of confronting them. That we took the easy way out instead of standing our ground and facing what happened."

"I don't think that." Natsu replied. "I mean yeah we chose to leave but, it's not like we'll be gone forever. Even if we were gone for ten years, Fairy Tail would still be there when we got back." He rested his head on Erza's shoulder and pulled her closer. "Right?"

Erza smiled as she rubbed the side of his face with her hand. "You're right. I was being foolish. I should have more faith in our friends. We all went through a lot during the battle with Tartaros. No one left unscathed, but we'll rebuild and become even stronger. We always do."

"Fairy Tail never gives up."

"That it doesn't." Erza sat up, Natsu releasing his grip on her as she turned to face him. She sat on her knees and straightened her back, her body blocking the moon and casting a shadow over her husband.

"What's up?" Natsu asked.

Erza cupped her hands on his face and bent over, her lips catching his in a passionate kiss. Natsu was surprised at first, but soon wrapped his arms around his wife's back and settled into the kiss. After a few seconds Erza pulled away, a loving smile on her face.

"What was that for?" Her husband asked.

"No reason. I just felt like it. Is that a problem?"

"No…can I have another?"

Erza turned her head and frowned in refusal. "I don't think you've earned one."

"Oh yeah?" Natsu grinned impishly. He began to wiggle his fingers around and suddenly attacked Erza, tickling her all over. "How's this?! Do I deserve one now?"

"N-Natsu! S-stop!" Erza begged through her laughter.

"Not until you admit defeat." Natsu moved down from her abdomen to her feet.

"I mean it!" Erza continued to laughing. Her knees grew weak and she fell to her back in the grass. "S-stop! Please! I can't…I can't take much more! I submit! I-"

Suddenly Natsu's lips crashed against Erza's, stifling his wife's laughter. He broke the contact and smiled as he loomed over her. "I win."

Erza pouted. "That was a cheap tactic. It won't work on me again."

"Really? Then on to round three."

Erza giggled as she wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck and pulled him into another kiss.

Their laughter echoed into the night sky.


	8. Dark Reflection

"They're gaining on us!"

"I see them!"

The demons were relentless in pursuit of their prey. Hideous and snarling, the beasts' eyes held a blank window into their hollow souls. They had no sense of right or wrong. No feelings of empathy or pain. All they possessed was a desire to eat. An innate need to rip, tear, and rend the flesh of whatever was unfortunate enough to cross their path. Hunger and death were their only reasons for being.

Their current targets were two young girls. One with magenta hair. The other dark green. They desperately raced through the long dead remains of East Forest. Their legs moving as fast as they could to stay ahead of the monsters behind them.

The smell of dead animals and decaying plants filled their nostrils, but they ignored their overwhelming urge to retch and kept moving forward. Just a bit farther and they would reach town. The barrier would protect them.

"I can see Magnolia!" The first girl pointed.

The demons snapped at the girls' heels as the ruined town grew in the distance. The girl with dark green hair grabbed the pistol from the holster affixed to her hip. Once her weapon was loaded, she turned and faced the demons.

"What are you doing?!" The magenta haired girl asked.

"What's it look like?! I'm giving them something to snack on!"

 ** _SPARK SHOT_**

The girl pulled the trigger and magic circles appeared in front of the demons. In an instant the beasts were struck by jagged bolts of electricity. When their twitching bodies fell to the ground, the two girls were able to safely reach town.

"Gabriel!" the magenta-haired girl shouted to the heavens.

A section of an invisible barrier opened wide enough for pair to enter. As soon as their feet touched the dirt of the city limits, the door instantly closed. The demons – having regained feeling in their bodies - attempted to attack again, but as soon as they touched the barrier their bodies burned away in a white flash of light.

The magenta haired girl sighed in relief. "That was close. I thought we wouldn't make it. Are you ok, Asuka?" she reached for her hunched over companion but her hand was quickly swatted away.

"Don't touch me." She said forcefully.

"S-sorry."

"Let's just get these supplies back to the guild." Asuka rose up and walked ahead into town.

"Alright." Aura nodded and followed.

* * *

"We're back." Aura announced as she and Asuka entered the Fairy Tail guild.

"Welcome back." Lisanna smiled from behind the bar. "How was the supply run?"

"It was going fine until we passed by a summoning script on the way back. We nearly ran all the way from Shirotsume with demons on our tail."

Aura placed her full backpack on the bar counter.

"You both made it back safely. That's what's most important."

Asuka placed her bag on the counter next. Without breaking her stride she walked to the stairs.

"Asuka, do you want something to eat?" Lisanna asked.

"I'll pass."

"Ok…"

Aura sighed as she watched the girl ascend the stairs.

"Still hates you, huh?"

Aura and Lisanna heard the dull thumping of metal on wood and looked to the library door. The pair watched Cana approach the bar with a playful grin on her face.

"Cana, that's rude." Lisanna chided as the brunette sat on a stool. "Don't worry, Aura. Asuka just needs some time. She'll come around eventually."

"Yeah…I guess so." Aura said flat. She then looked to Cana. "Where are the others?"

Cana pointed her thumb to the library. "In a meeting."

"Then why aren't you down there?" Lisanna inquired.

"I got bored. After a while you just get tired of hearing the same thing over and over again."

Aura couldn't help but agree. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year. It was the same thing. Bring peace back to the world. The plan was always the same…unfortunately so were the results. Failure. How long could they keep going like this?

"What else can we do?" Lisanna sadly asked. "Trying to make things better is the only thing that keeping us sane."

"Maybe for you." Cana countered. "Booze usually does the trick for me. Speaking of which…"

Lisanna rolled her eyes and filled a mug with beer. She slid it over to the fortuneteller.

"Thanks. Wanna sip, kid?"

Cana held up the mug to Aura, the metal half of her right arm peeking from between her glove and shirt sleeve.

"I'm still too young." Aura politely declined.

"World's ending, kid. No better time to start a new hobby." Cana took a drink from her mug.

"You're back!"

The trio saw a young woman walk down the stairs with a bright smile on her face.

Aura focused on the woman's dark blonde hair for a brief moment, taking notice of the pink streak going down the side.

"H-hi, Uriel." She greeted.

"How was the mission?" the jovial young woman - now known as Uriel - sat very close to Aura. "Find any bad guys?"

Aura scooted over to the next stool to give herself some distance.

"We were chased by some demons on the way back."

"Oh how fun! Anyone die?"

"No."

"How about serious injuries then?"

"No. We came back just fine."

"Oh poo." Uriel pouted. "How boring." She turned her attention to Lisanna. "Lizzie, can I have a sandwich please? Extra pepper sauce."

"I'll have it out in a moment."

Lisanna nodded and busied herself in the kitchen.

"Shouldn't you be securing the barrier?" Cana asked Uriel, not looking away from what would be her third drink.

"It's fine." Uriel waved off. "Gabe created a doppelganger to tide things over while I came down here." She stretched her arms overhead. "It gets so stuffy in that room, ya know? I don't know how those two can stand it. I like to stretch my legs every once in a while. Oops." Uriel looked down to her legs dangling over the side of the stool and smiled innocently. "Poor choice of words." she giggled.

The other three weren't amused by the joke.

"Have you spoken to Juvia?" Cana asked.

"The water girl? I don't think so. She's still locked away in her room, right? I don't think she likes people very much."

"Maybe she just doesn't like you."

"Entirely possible, but it's not like we can change the past now can we?" Uriel shrugged with a wide smile.

"Here is your sandwich."

Lisanna placed the plate of food before Uriel.

"Thanks, Lizzie!" Uriel crammed the sandwich in her mouth, much to the surprise - and slight disgust - of Aura. "I'll see you guys later~!" she sang with her mouth full. She skipped back up the stairs, nearly tripping when she reached the top.

"I'm ok!"

"She really is energetic." Lisanna said.

"Must be easy when you're joyriding in someone else's body." Cana said curtly.

Lisanna's face fell. "Cana…"

"Don't mind me. I'm just drunk."

Aura rested her chin in her palm, watching as the clock behind the bar slowly ticked away. According to the time it was well into the evening - not that one would automatically know because of the pitch black skies.

"Sissy…?" a small voice called out.

A little girl - no older than five or six - with deep purple hair groggily walked to the bar, moaning as she rubbed her eyes free of sleep.

Aura hopped down from the stool and knelt in front of the girl.

"Rosemary. Were you sleeping?"

The little girl nodded. "I heard you talking, and I came out to see you." she wrapped her arms around her older sister's neck. "Welcome back, Sissy."

Aura smiled and hugged her back. "Thank you."

The two walked to the bar, Aura placing Rosemary on the stool next to her.

"Hello, Rosemary." Lisanna greeted with a warm smile. "Did you sleep well?"

The child nodded, her face slightly hidden behind her older sister's shirt.

"Do you want something to eat?"

Rosemary nodded again.

"Then I'll make something for you, ok?"

"Ok." Rosemary muttered.

In a few minutes time Lisanna placed a plate of pasta and a glass of juice in front of Rosemary.

"Here you go."

"What do you say, Rosemary?" Aura prompted.

"Thank you, Ms. Lisanna." Rosemary timidly said.

"You're very welcome, sweetie."

The library door opened and out stepped the council. Headed by Jellal: Jura, Rogue, Laxus, Master Bob, Ichiya, Lucy, Levy, and Hibiki all filed out of the room. From the solemn looks on their faces, not much had been accomplished during the meeting. Though that really wasn't anything new.

"Looks like they're finally done." Cana noted.

"Daddy!" Rosemary jumped from the stool and ran to Jellal, attacking his leg with a tight hug.

"Hello, Rosemary." Jellal chuckled, lovingly patting his daughter on the head. "I see you had a nice rest."

"Mhm!" the child happily nodded. "I woke up when I heard Sissy's voice."

"Oh? Aura's returned? Where is she?"

"Over here."

Aura raised her hand and Jellal looked to the bar. When he saw her he smiled.

"Welcome back."

"Thanks."

"Where's Asuka? I thought you two went on the supply run together."

"She went to her room."

"I see."

"Where's Mommy?" Rosemary asked.

When Erza emerged from the library, Rosemary's eyes lit up.

"Mommy!"

Erza smiled warmly at the girl.

"Hey, Mom."

Erza watched Aura approach and smiled at her as well. "Welcome back, Aura. I trust the supply run went well."

Aura nodded. "Yeah. We got everything on the list."

"Good. Did you encounter any resistance along the way?"

"A few demons, but it was nothing we couldn't handle."

"That's good to hear. I'm sorry. I wish there was another way to get what we needed without putting the two of you at risk."

"It's ok." Aura reassured. "I'd go crazy if I didn't have something to do. Besides going outside the city once in awhile lets me hope that not everything is bad…"

Erza smile wilted a little when she looked at her eldest daughter. "I promise things will be better soon."

"Yeah…I know." Aura nodded, her eyes now on the ground.

"How about we spar for a little while? It's been some time since I've tested your skills."

"Ok." Aura accepted.

"Excellent." Erza smiled. "Go to the training area. I'll meet you there shortly."

Aura nodded and walked out of the guild hall.

"Are you sure sparring is the best thing right now?" Jellal asked Erza.

"We don't have much time left." Erza answered sternly. "We have to know that she is ready when he comes."

"She's just a child, Erza."

Rosemary tugged on her mother's cloak. Prompting Erza to look at her.

"Yes, Rosemary?"

"Is Sissy ok?" she frowned.

Erza knelt down to her daughter's level. "Yes Aura is fine. She's just a little sad."

"Why?"

"It's complicated." She placed her hand on Rosemary's head. "Now why don't you let Daddy give you a bath and tuck you into bed, ok?"

The child shook her head in refusal. "I want Sissy to tuck me in."

"Ok we'll get her to tuck you in when she and Mommy are done talking. Is that ok?" Jellal offered.

Rosemary accepted this compromise with a nod.

"Good girl." Erza kissed Rosemary's forehead and waved as she and Jellal walked up the stairs to the bathroom. When they were gone her face hardened and she faced the door.

"Lucy."

The blonde walked to Erza. "Yes? What is it?"

"Can you check on Juvia? Lisanna said that she hasn't been eating lately. I'm starting to get worried that she's falling back into old habits."

"Ok." The short-haired blonde nodded.

"Check on the angels as well. I want to know the status of their spell. Take Levy and Hibiki with you. They seem to get along with them well enough."

"Right."

"Thank you."

Lucy gathered the pair and the three were soon on their way up the stairs.

"Laxus. Jura. Can the both of you check around the town perimeter for any weaknesses in the barrier? I want to know just how those demons managed to enter the other day."

"As you wish." Jura bowed his head.

"Got it." Laxus said.

The pair walked out of the guild.

"Is there anything you need me to do, Erza?" Rogue asked.

"Yes. Rest. You're still hurt from the battle with Franmalth."

"Right." The white shadow dragon slayer accepted. "Sorry for being such a burden."

"You're not a burden in the slightest." Erza reassured. "We just need you at full strength in case there is another attack."

"As you say." Rogue bowed his head and walked to his room.

"Cana, can you give me a forecast for next week?" Erza asked.

"On it, Boss." Cana saluted.

"Thank you. Lisanna?"

"Yes?" The barmaid answered.

"See if you can contact of Cobra and the others. An update on Tartaros' forces would really help us right now."

"I'll see what I can do."

With that Erza thanked Lisanna and walked out of the guild.

* * *

Aura sat in the dirt as she waited for her mother at the training ground - formerly known as South Gate Park.

Having grown bored, she started drawing in the dirt with her finger. Having already drawn both herself and her mother, Aura put the finishing touches on a third face. A man with spiky hair. When she saw her mother finally arrive, she quickly wiped away the caricatures with her hand and stood up.

"My apologies for taking so long." Erza said. "There were a few things I had to take care of."

"It's ok." Aura replied. "I know how busy you are."

Erza summoned a sword in her hand. "Are you ready to begin?"

Aura slowly unsheathed Archenemy and readied herself for battle. "Whenever you are."

Erza narrowed her eyes and dashed forward, Aura quickly following suit.

* * *

Inside the newly constructed Plutogrim, a lone man sat upon a throne. He looked to the dark sky above his throne, trying his best to remember what color it used to be. _Red? No. I think it was…yellow? No that doesn't sound right either._

"Master."

A woman entered the chamber and knelt before the man. Her head down to the ground.

"Keyes has reported." she said. "His forces have successfully quelled the rebellion in Pergande. Ishgal is now completely under our control."

"Hey, Kyôka..." The man began. "What color was the sky before I woke up?"

"This one believes it was blue, Master." the demon answered.

"Really?" his face twisted in displeasure. "That doesn't sound right. You sure it wasn't orange or something?"

"Master, did you hear what this one said earlier?"

"Yes. I heard you. We conquered Pergrande, right? Good."

"Yes, but…there is still the matter of Magnolia."

"What about it?"

"The resistance there is still strong. They have as recently as yesterday stolen supplies from one of our storage outposts again."

"So we're missing a few things we had too much of. It's nothing to worry about. Magnolia is no threat to us."

"But, Master…"

"If I said its fine then its fine, Kyôka." He said firmly. "Unless there something else you would like to say."

"Well, it's just-"

"Spit it out."

"This one – as well as a few others – believe that you are purposely ignoring Magnolia for reasons other than you say."

The man's eyes narrowed and slowly the room started to heat up. "And what do you believe my reasons are?"

Kyôka was starting to sweat from the humidity. "Popular consensus is that you are refusing to quell the resistance there because you still have ties to-"Before the demon could finish her sentence, she was grabbed by the neck and lifted into the air.

"Go on." He prompted as he squeezed Kyôka's neck, her feet dangling just above the ground. "Finish your thought. Who do I have ties with?"

Kyôka struggled to breathe in her Master's grip. His touch was starting to singe her neck.

"Oh I'm sorry. Were you finished talking? Then allow me to allay all of your concerns. My reasons for not crushing Fairy Tail are my own and no one else's. We will get rid of them when **I** see fit and not a moment sooner. Do you understand?"

Kyôka nodded and was dropped back to the ground. She gasped for air on her knees, her neck still burning from her Master's grip.

The man returned to his throne and sat down. "You may go now. Oh and tell Sayla the next time she sends demons without my permission we will have the conversation that you and I just had. Only hers will not end with a warning."

Kyôka stood up and bowed. "Yes, Master E.N.D." she rasped. With that she exited the throne room.

Etherious Natsu Dragneel looked back up to the sky, his head resting comfortably on his hand.

"Blue, huh?" a sinister grin slowly stretched across his face. "It looks much better black."

* * *

 **A little bit of a detour here. I'm having a bit of a block right now with how to proceed with the drabbles without spoiling too much of the main story so I decided to do things a little bit different for a couple of chapters (2 or 3 at the most). Basically I thought, "What if Natsu had become END in 7 Years and Counting? What would happen to the world?) So instead of just making it another story, I just decided to add that random idea to a couple chapters in this story.**

 **Don't worry this is still about Natsu's family, just a different version of them. The next chapter will explain some of just what happened when END awakened...and who survived.**

 **Leave a comment letting me know what you think, and thanks for reading! :)**

 **P.S. I know some of you will be upset about the whole Jerza thing, but don't worry it will be explained and it doesn't have much bearing on the mini-arc. SO don't hate me too much.**


	9. A Young Dragon's Memories

My name is Aura Robin Dragneel,and I was seven years old when the world died. Well I say that, but the truth is I actually slept through most of it.

Let me explain.

I used to have this ancient fire dragon named Atlas Flame trapped inside of my body – it's a long story. Anyway he was pulled out of me by this group of demons calling themselves Tartaros. As you can imagine the pain of something that big being yanked out of me was too much for my seven year old self to bear.

When I finally woke up nearly a week later, the sky was completely black and Magnolia – the town where I was born and raised – was almost completely destroyed. It was like a bomb had went off. In a way it had because of my father: Natsu Dragneel.

My Dad was this big goofball. He would always run around and make lots of noise and challenge anyone he could to a fight. He also like to eat a lot, but when he got serious he was really scary. I loved him a lot. I wanted to be just like him.

He used to be a part of this guild called Fairy Tail. They were the strongest wizards in the entire kingdom, and my Dad was one of their best. He was a dragon slayer. That meant his magic was strong enough to slay dragons. That's as cool as it sounds. He went on loads of adventures with his team all over the kingdom and beat up one bad guy after another. He was pretty famous. Then the battle with Tartaros happened.

I mentioned before that they were demons, right? Well it turns out that they were all created by a dark wizard named Zeref. People have told me that he's immortal, and that he created the Tartaros demons to kill him one day. I don't really know if I believe in that stuff, but the demons are really powerful so it might be true. I'm getting off topic again. Back to the end of the world.

See, Tartaros was led by a demon named Mard Geer Tartaros. How lame do you have to be to name a guild after yourself? Anyway, turns out that Mard Geer wasn't actually the leader of Tartaros. That was E.N.D., the strongest demon Zeref ever created.

E.N.D. is actually an acronym. Spelled out it stands for "Etherious Natsu Dragneel". That's right, my father is the strongest demon ever created Zeref. It was a bitter pill for the guild to swallow. Especially my mom.

Oh right I haven't talked about her yet have I? My mother's name is Erza Scarlet. She was the strongest woman in Fairy Tail. Possibly the entire kingdom. She's very strict and a bit scary at times, but she's also very loving and kind. I guess that's how she and my dad wound up together despite being total opposites.

She took it really hard when she found out what dad was. She didn't want to accept it, and how could she? How do you process that your husband, someone you've known since you were a kid, was this horrible demon bent on death and destruction?

Maybe that's why she didn't see what was coming next.

My aunt Lucy told me that my father awakened as E.N.D. when Igneel died. Igneel is my grandfather…he's also a dragon. After he was killed by Acnologia – an evil dragon – my dad just broke down. Igneel had left him when he was still a kid - one of the reasons my dad joined Fairy Tail was to find him – so when he finally reunited with him he was happy. But that reunion was short lived him Acnologia killed him in battle right in front of my dad's eyes. Add on to the fact that I was nearly dead at the time, and my dad couldn't take it. He snapped.

There was this tower surge of dark fire that shot into the sky. A wave of dark energy spread throughout the town and when it was gone…so was my father.

E.N.D. had been reborn.

At first no one knew what to make of his transformation. They didn't truly see how different he was until the moment he killed Happy in front of them. Happy was an exceed – a cat creature from another world called Edolas – and he and my father had been together since he was a kid. My dad actually hatched Happy from his egg with the help of his childhood friend Lisanna.

One by one all of the people my dad once called friend – family - were killed by his hand: Gajeel, Wendy, Yukino, Sting, Elfman, Mirajane, and Flare were just the start of it. Lots of people died that day, but E.N.D. didn't just kill good wizards. He also killed members of Tartaros. He saw no difference. He was just a beast ahppy to be released after such long captivity.

My mom tried her best to stop him - to reason with him - but he was too strong for. In the end he took her left eye, and she was forced to retreat along with whoever was still left.

After that E.N.D went Magnolia and decimated the town, killing thousands of people. It was a massacre. When he made it to the Fairy Tail guild he killed Master Makarov, as well as destroyed Fairy Heart – the crystal housing the body of the guild's first master, Mavis Vermillion. With both Masters gone and it's members down to a handful…

Fairy Tail was no more.

* * *

 **New chapter after so long. Decided to try something a little different here and let Aura tell the story of what happend in this alternate future before finishing it up with a resolution. Hopefully you guys like it.**

 **As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you guys think. Thanks fore reading!**


	10. A Young Dragon's Memories Pt 2

Those first few years were pretty rough. Not saying that things aren't bad now – in fact they may be even worse – but we've had time to adjust since the earlier days of END's awakening so I think we're doing much better now. Maybe I'm just being too optimistic. Anyway let's continue.

With most of the senior members of the guild wiped out in that first attack, the duty of guild master fell to the shoulders of my mother by a vote. Seeing as how she was voted guild master before it wasn't that big of a deal. However, to say she wasn't ready for it would be a gross understatement.

After END awakened Mom just…shut herself away for a few months. She never came downstairs. Not even to eat. I had to bring all of her meals to her. She was hollow inside. Broken in more ways than one. My Dad – the man she loved – had become a monster and there was nothing she could do about it.

With my mother incapacitated Laxus became the interim guild master. He did a good job, but we all knew that he was still distraught over the loss of Grandpa Makarov and his friends from the Thunder Legion. He tried his best to lead, but his heart just wasn't in it. Lisanna also resigned from active duty as a wizard. With her siblings gone she didn't have the will to fight anymore. She took over Mama Mira-I mean Mirajane's place as the guild's barmaid.

Cana starting drinking way more than she ever had in the past. It had gotten to the point where she couldn't even function properly without some form of alcohol in her body. Add to the fact that she lost a leg during the awakening – that's what we call that day now - and she was just as miserable as everyone else.

Juvia – like my mother – locked herself away in her room, but unlike my mother she still has yet to come out. Gray was one of the first people END killed after Happy. Not even his Devil Slayer Magic could stop him, but that wasn't the only loss Juvia suffered. Alana was gone as well.

I didn't find this out until years later, but apparently Alana was the vessel for ancient beings calling themselves "Angels". During the fight against one of Tartaros' members – a demon named Keyes - Alana was sucked into some weird pocket dimension. The angels freed her but it cost Alana her sanity in the process. The power was too much for her to handle and eventually her mind died. Now her body is nothing but a shell for the angels to use however they want.

The angels themselves aren't that bad. Uriel is peppy if a little crazy, Michael is serious but fair, and Gabriel is the most normal and kind out of the three, but...I still wish Alana was around. I really took her for granted when she was alive. As for Juvia, If it weren't for the plates of food being brought to her being cleared then I would have thought she had died…but I guess in a way she has. I don't think I'll ever see Juvia smile again. Same goes for Asuka.

Who's Asuka? I can't believe it took me so long to talk about her. She is...well she was my best friend. We both grew up in the guild together. Since we were babies really. Her parents - Mr. Alzack and Ms. Bisca - were two of the nicest people I've ever known. They took care of me along with Macao and Romeo when my parents and every one else went missing for seven years - it's a really long story that I don't have time to tell right now. Ask me another time. Anyway me and Asuka were inseparable until the Awakening. Her parents were among those killed by END. She's hated me for it ever since. I can't say I really blame her. She was an orphan now, and it was all my dad's fault. I still remember the words she said to me on our first job together. "I can't even look you in the eye anymore. All I see is the daughter of a monster. You make me sick."

I miss her. I shouldn't dwell on it though or I'll lose focus. I'm almost done.

With nearly all of the guilds in Fiore destroyed by Tartaros, those that were left formed a new magic council in the only city in the kingdom still standing…Magnolia. There was also the creation of a new Crime Sorciere now led by Meldy. They mostly do a lot of recon missions and other stuff for the new council. It's really dangerous work but they manage to pull it off without much trouble. It's actually really amazing the more I think about it. They're so cool - I wanted to join them, but Mom wouldn't let me.

Mom didn't come out of her room until the day Jellal joined us. Who is Jellal? It's kinda complicated. He and mom have been friends since they were kids – they even had a thing for each other until she got with Dad – so in a way he's like my uncle. I didn't officially meet him until I was about six or seven years old. Mom told me that he did a lot of bad stuff in his past that he had to atone for, but I think he's doing alright now. It wasn't until almost a year after Jellal and his group joined that I finally realized why my mom was so depressed.

It wasn't just because Dad had become END and killed their friends – though that was a big reason – it was because she was pregnant with my sister, Rosemary. I know what you're thinking, and no, she's not Jellal's daughter. The purple hair is just dye so no one else finds out the truth – even Rosemary doesn't know who her real dad is. To this day I think the only ones that know about her true parents are myself, the council, and Cana. She's a bit spacey, but overall she's a good kid. I don't know when we'll tell her who her real dad is...we might never do it. That may seem harsh, but how do you break it to a six year old that their real father is a demonic-killer? I still have trouble believing it and I'm almost eighteen.

My training officially started not long after Mom was back on her feet. I always wanted to be strong like my parents, but I never expected the kind of circumstances it would be under. I lost my magic when Tartaros captured me you see, so I had to learn how to fight with my bare hands as well as a sword. Combat training with Laxus isn't that bad – I actually think he takes it easy on me sometimes – but sword training with mom and Aunt Kagura was hell.

Kagura is…was…she…she um…she's the one that gave me my sword, Archenemy. It used to be hers. She wasn't really my aunt, but mom considered her a sister and that was good enough for me. She didn't talk much and she could be really cranky at times, but I never blamed her for it. She'd been through a lot in life, but she came out on the other side stronger for it. I loved her a lot. I still do. She…she died four years ago. It was on my first mission and…sorry, it's kind of hard for me to talk about this. I'll just finish up.

The days have been hard but somehow we've managed to survive as best we can. We've lost a lot of people along the way: allies, friends, family, but through it all we've still managed to be a small beacon of light in a dark world. We have no idea when E.N.D….when Dad will come and finish the job, but when he does we'll be ready for him.

…I hope.

* * *

 **Finished with Aura's interpretation of the events. A bit dreary and dark, but I think that's ok. I think some levity is in order, so the next chapter is gonna be a bit more light in tone. Hopefully you all read it.**

 **As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think. Thanks for reading! :)**


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